When Worlds Collide
by Alice's Notebook
Summary: Ladybug begins to slowly fall in love with her leather clad partner. As the two draw closer, Chat began to notice little details, small similarities between his fellow hero, and a certain clumsy classmate.
1. Chapter 1

The wind blew through Ladybug's hair as she watched the sun slip under the horizon. The bustling street below was a distant hum as the spotted heroine slipped into her own thoughts.

She thought of Adrien. She saw his bright green eyes and coy smile in her head. His gentle laughter echoed in her memories. She counted down the seconds until she could see him again.

"Quiet night, huh?"

Ladybug looked up, completely unfazed.

"Hi chaton." She greeted him quietly.

Chat Noir plopped down next to his partner. He met her eyes with a goofy kind of grin.

"what purr-fect timing to meet you here, m'lady" he quipped.

Ladybug returned his grin with a tired smile. She said nothing, but Chat could instantly see it in her eyes. She'd had a rough day. He nudged himself closer to her and let her lean on him a bit.

"Long day?"

Ladybug gave a weary sigh, "you could say that."

"do you want to talk about it?"

"There's not much to say," She replied dully, "it was just another mediocre day… one of a thousand."

Chat Noir nodded understandingly. He'd learned recently that sometimes the best way to help his lady was to just listen, no matter how much of a blabber-mouth he, normally was. After a while Ladybug said nothing. Not sure what to do, Chat simply wrapped an arm around her.

"Bad days always get better bug-a-boo," he assured her, "trust me on this."

When he got no response he figured he might as well shut up. He felt his partner pull him closer, he stiffened for a moment.

 _Ladybug never acts like this..._

But the side of him that had pined for this moment took over, he relaxed and and enjoyed the moment. The final rays of sun began to dim and stars begun to join the moon in the night sky. A cold breeze rustled his hair as he stared up at the sea of stars the pieced the inky black of the night.

His years of solitude had left him with enough time to become familiar with a few of the constellations. He saw Orion and remembered the tales of his grand battle with Scorpio. The feline hero turned eagerly to point it out to Ladybug, but found her asleep, resting her head on his shoulder.

The back of his mind, he panicked. He had no idea of where Ladybug lived, and even if he did how was he supposed to explain to this girl's parents why Chat Noir was dropping off Paris's greatest hero at their doorstep.

Wave of longing suddenly crashed over Adrien. He saved Paris with this beautiful girl on a weekly day, but they'd barely had a conversation outside of "work". As much as he wanted to show Ladybug the respect she deserved, he desperately wanted to get to know Ladybug, both with the mask and without.

"I'd give up my miraculous for you," he whispered, "and I don't even know your name."

With a sigh, Chat lifted Ladybug up. He had no idea where she was going to take her. He resolved to find someplace quieter, and more private. He considered bringing her to the Agreste mansion, but shuddered at the thought of explaining to his father where he had been and why Ladybug was with him.

A sudden shout broke the silence of the moment.

"Marinette?!"

A few buildings away, Chat Noir could see Marinette's mother, looking frantic as she called out her daughter's name. With a sudden burst of energy, he flung himself from building to building and landed on the balcony with a still-sleeping Ladybug in his arms.

"Is there a problem?" He implored, fighting the worry out of his voice.

"Chat Noir!" Sabine cried out in surprise, "my daughter's gone missing!

"Are you sure?"

"yes! She wasn't in bed when I went to check on her, nor anywhere in the house for that matter! I called all of her friends, nobody knows where she is!"

The feline took a moment to think, but Sabine interrupted him again.

"Is Ladybug alright?"

The blonde looked down at his sleeping partner, "she's fine, just asleep."

Mrs. Cheng gave a small sigh of relief, "do you think you could wake her up? I'd like to find my daughter please."

Chat stifled a laugh at how polite she was as he put Ladybug on the ground.

"Bug-a-boo?" He called loudly, "you have to wake up someone's gone missing."

"Who?" She grumbled quitely.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

Her eyes snapped open. Ladybug looked up to see her mother, tear streaks down her face, holding a hand out to her.

"Ladybug please, find my daughter."

The heroine wanted to laugh, but she bit her lip and promised to "find" Marinette.

"You search on the east side of the city, you take west." Ladybug instructed.

"What if she's left Paris?"

"Then we'll search all of France, but for now let's start small."

Chat Noir nodded, and turned east. Ladybug made a move to head west, but, as soon as she knew Chat Noir couldn't see her anymore, she turned East and began wracking her brains for excuses for why she's on the streets well past midnight.

 **Well, the first one's a wrap. Write a review if you can! I'd love to know what I can improve on. I'll see you next time.**


	2. Chapter 2

Marinette rushed to the east side of Paris. Tikki was perched on her shoulder, practically shouting in Marinette's ear so she could hear her over the roar of the wind.

"Marinette you have to be more careful!" She called out loudly, "you can't just disappear in the middle of the night like this!"

"I know, Tikki!" The girl called back "I just got a little distracted that's all."

their conversation was interrupted by a call from one of the roofs "Marinette? Is that you?"

Marinettes heart did a little flip. How was she going to explain herself? She didn't have anyone time to come up with excuses as Chat Noir emerged from the shadows. He looked at the raven haired civilian with a mix of relief and anger in his eyes.

"are you alright?" He inquired almost imeadiately.

"I'm fine."

"Then let's get you home," The feline heroine continued, "your parents are worried sick."

 _They weren't the only ones_

Unbeknownst to Marinette, Adrien had been searching frantically for her. He'd probably exhausted plagg by this point but he'd been so worried that he didn't want to stop. The thought of losing one of only four friends mortified him.

the feline hero carried Marinette home, showing her beautiful views of Paris's skyline while they made their way to the bakery. When they finally opened the bakery door, the sweet sugary smell of pastries hot them, along with a gust of welcoming warm air,

When Sabine saw her daughter, she jumped up immediately, "Marinette!" She called out, wrapping the girl in a tight embrace.

Tom joined his wife and daughter in the affection, "Marinette don't you ever scare us like that again!"

Chat watched from a corner longingly. Before his mother had disappeared, his disappearance wouldn't have gone unnoticed for more than twenty minutes. He had been gone for six hours and Nathalie hadn't even called his phone.

Sabine broke away from her daughter to talk to Chat Noir, "Thank you so much for all your help."

"It was nothing, I'm happy to help."

"Regardless, take this as thanks." Marinette's mother handed the hero a box, presumably filled with some kind of sweet he would enjoy later.

"Thank you."

"Thank _you_ for bringing our girl back safely."

With that Chat Noir disappeared into the night.

—

Marinette collapsed fully clothed on her bed, she closed her eyes, about to drift off to sleep, when Tikki's voice snapped her awake.

"Marinette you have to be more careful!" The kwami squeaked.

"I know Tikki but—"

"No "Buts" Marinette, if you go missing in the middle of the night people could suspect that your Ladybug!"

The girl grumbled tiredly as her eyes slipped shut again.

"Marinette!"

"Whaaat Tikki?"

"Goodnight."

In response Tikki was greeted with the sounds of soft snoring.

—

Chat Noir muttered "Claws off," as he collapsed onto his couch. He was vaguely aware of plagg zooming off to get cheese as he cradled his head in his hands. He opened up the box from Merinette's mother. Cookies. He hid them in a drawer for later as he made his way to his bed. He thought of his mother. Her gentle laughter, her optimism, and her warm welcoming eyes.

Thinking of her sent a shiver of loneliness creeping down Adrien's spine, he could feel hot tears welling up in his eyes. He didn't care anymore. He collapsed onto his bed. His lips trembled. As tears began to fall, all Adrien could think about was what his mother would do if she was here. She'd hold him close, and promise to him that everything would be ok.

But it wasn't.

Thinking of his mother's comfort only made the boy feel worse. He pulled his blanket closer, trying to rid himself of the chill the was taking hold of him. Adrien's teeth chattered while sobs erupted from his chest.

Eventually he layed back oon his back, tears still rolled down his cheeks as he slipped into a restless sleep.

—

 **Thanks for reading! Sorry for such a short chapter. It didn't really make sense to add anything else to it though. More coming soon. Feel free to leave a review to point out ways I can improve my writing.**


	3. Chapter 3

Marinette and Adrien both showed up to class looking as if they hadn't slept in days. The blonde looke especially ragged, he was wearing his shirt inside out, and it barely looked like he'd pulled a comb through his hair.

"Dude, you look wiped out!" Nino noted when Adrien made his way to class, "are you ok?"

The model gave a meek nod as he wiped sleep away from his eyes. When he collapsed into his chair, his eyes shut and Nino had to shake him back awake.

"Man you look awful! Are you sure you don't want to call your old man or something?

Adrien shook his head, muttering something about his father before face planting on the desk in front of him. Nino gave his sleeping friend one last incredulous look before returning to the music he had been enjoying. He's barely been listening for five seconds when he got a tap on the shoulder from Alya.

"What's up?"

"Do you know anything about this?" The reporter asked with concern, pointing to Adrien, and then Marinette who was still awake, but just barely.

"No clue, Adrien said he was fine, but I dunno."

It was then their teacher walked into the room. Thankfully, she didn't acknowledge the two exhausted students she walked passed and instead went straight to teaching.

When the students were dismissed for lunch, Nino and Alya herded their sleepy friends into the library. Marinette slouched against a pile of books, and Adrien sat up, looking dazed.

"ok, what's going on?!" Alya demand.

"watdoyoumeam?" Adrien muttered.

"you two haven't been able to keep your eyes open for more then five seconds all day!"

"So..?"

"So we're worried about you dude!" Nino chimed in

Adrien smiled foolishly, "we're fiiine guys. Chill."

"I don't think so blonde." Alya snapped back.

The interrogation was interrupted by a beeping sound on Anya's phone. It's was an akuma alert. She sighed dramatically.

"This is not over." She assured, walking out the door.

Adrien got up to leave unquestioned, he dragged his feet and muttered, "claws out"

Chat Noir looked dazed as he extended his stick and scouted for the akuma. He didn't have to look far, across the street and could see people running about in the streets. A chorus of car sirens and screaming civilians rang up from the area. Leaning his weight forward, the pole began to fall in the direction of the chaos.

When Chat Noir landed, he had no trouble spotting the new villain. It was a tall, wolf-like creature it's lips pulled back in a snarl, exposing terrifyingly sharp fangs. The creature was about to turn a car into a chew toy when Chat Noir whistled loudly, pulling the attention of the canine fiend.

"Over here, puppy!" He called, "come and get me!"

The villain obliged snarling and gnashing it's teeth. Chat Noir leaped onto a building, searching the area for his spotted companion. Nothing. The villain jumped up onto the roof, almost knocking the feline hero down.

"Careful, Chat Noir!" A voice called out from below him.

"Ladybug?"

He looked down, Marinette stared up at him with concern. The single distraction was all the villein need. The wolf swiped a paw at Chat Noir.

All he could hear was Marinette's paniced scream as the gravity pulled him closer to his doom.

Where was he? Why couldn't he see anything? Why did his head _hurt?_

"Quickly Ladybug, transform! It seems Chat Noir is about to awaken."

At this, Adrien clamped his eyes shut as he heard an all too familiar voice call out, "Tikki, Spots On!"

After a bright flash of light, Chat Noir opened his eyes to see a very concerned Ladybug crouching over him. He tried to push himself up, but he was met with a sudden, overwhelming, pain in his shoulder. He collapsed with a wince

"What happened?" He asked groggily.

"you fell." Ladybug answered simply.

He shifted his weight to his good shoulder and sat up with a grimace, "and the akuma?"

"Defeated."

There was a short silence in between the two heroes in which Adrien became vaugely aware of Master Fu watching from the other side of his room.

Suddenly Chat Noir felt Ladybug fling herself onto him, wrapping her partner in a tight embrace.

"I'm so sorry Chat Noir!"

"M'lady!" Chat Noir cried out in confusion, "you have nothing to apologize for!"

Chat Noir could hear the quiet sobbing of his spotted partner.

"I was late, and then you fell!"

"That's not your fault! I was distracted by a civilian who was trying to talk to me as I fought, that's why I fell."

This did nothing to comfort her and The the leather-clad savior of Paris was left with nothing to do but hold his spotted companion tightly.


	4. Chapter 4

Marinette didn't want to move. She couldn't stop thinking about what Chat had said.

She'd been the distraction, she'd caused him to fall, and thanks to her Chat Noir would be out of commission for the next three weeks. She rolled over on her bed with a sigh. The luminous green numbers on her clock told her that it was four hours past midnight. A small grunt of discomfort reverberated in the back of her throat as she got up. She quietly made her way up to the balcony.

The crisp breeze of the night was a welcome change from her stuffy bedroom. Marinette stared out at her city, illuminated by the street lamps and the few buildings that still had their lights on at such an early hour. She rested her hands in her chin and closed her eyes, humming a random little tune. The vista of Paris from the rooftops was one that never ceased to amaze her.

 _If only I hadn't hurt the person who I share it with._

Her lip quivered. She let our a sigh and let the tears fall. First one, than two. Until two long streams made their way down Marinette's face as she mourned the pain she had brought to her partner. The pleasant cool of the night turned to a relentless chill that shook the girl to the core. The quiet streets below were now a reminder of how alone she was. She couldn't talk to anyone about this. No one could know she was Ladybug.

Marinette's sobbing eventually slowed as her breathing became slow and steady. She was vaguely aware of Tikki landing on her shoulder. The Kwami rested her little head against Marinette's neck.

"it's alright Marinette." Tikki assured, "Chat Noir will be fine after a couple of weeks."

The hero gave no reply, she simply stared off into the night.

"I know it's hard for you Marinette, but you have to let go of this."

Again, no response.

"Fixating on him will only hinder your ability to defend the city."

This time Ladybug did respond, with a low, drawn-out sigh.

"Marin—"

"WHAT IF HE HATES ME TIKKI?!" The hero cried out suddenly.

"Marinette, he barely even talks you you out of costume," The little creature chided,"I doubt he hates you, but if he does it doesn't matters."

"—But he's always begging me to tell him who I am!" The girl countered, "what if I tell him and then he re-realizes I'm the one who m-made him fall a-and—" The words were torn out of her throat by a sudden sob.

Tikki hovered in front of Marinette, looking her directly in the eyes.

"Do you want to tell him?

She didn't know. Chat had been nothing but kind and supportive to her, after a while she didn't mind the idea of revealing herself to him, but the events of yesterday had changed everything. Chat would do well to never come in contact with Marinette again. The thought of Chat Noir, hurt at her fault was something she couldn't bear.

"I used to." Marinette finally decided, "but after everything..."

"Please, Marinette you're being silly!"

The two suddenly noticed the tinge of pink that had appeared in the night sky.

It was going to be a long day.

 **Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave a review to tell me what I can improve on! Also, I know you've heard it everywhere else, but sorry for the short chapter. Artistically it feels complete, so I guess I shouldn't stuff anymore in there, but it is about 300 words shorter than normal. Not to mention my chapters a relatively shorter to begin with. There I go rambling. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed because you'll be getting another chapter very soon.**


	5. Chapter 5

Ms. Bustier has shocked when she walked into her classroom early in the morning to find Marinette Dupain-Cheng already in her seat, hours before class began.

"G'mornin Ms. Bustier," the girl muttered sleepily, "how are you?"

"I'm good, thank you."

Deciding that the student didn't look like she wanted to have a conversation, the green-eyed teacher began to write the day's lesson on the board. She could hear the sounds of a pencil being drawn rapidly across paper behind her, as Marinette copied down the notes.

Ms. Bustier shot a tentative glance at the clock above her. It was a quarter past six in the morning.

"Marinette?"

"Yes, ma'am?"

"Why are you here so early?"

She could see the sudden jolt in Marinette's posture.

"What do you mean early?" She inquired with a paniced tone.

"it's Six-fifteen in the morning."

Marinette slumped in her seat with in embarrassment, "I was wondering where everybody was."

Ms. Bustier let out a small chuckle, "at least you're not late."

The girl gave a small groan. She rested her head in her crossed arms on the desk, hiding away from Ms. Bustier.

"Is everything alright Marinette? You look worse than you did yesterday."

"Yeah? Well I'm fine." The girl snapped sleepily, then added a meek, "thanks for your concern."

Eventually the rest of the class began to enter the classroom. First Kim and Max, followed shortly by a sleepy looking Alix. A few minutes later Julika and Rose strode in, the former of the two mumbling something about Marinette being on time. They came one after the other, Chloe and Sabrina, Nathaniel muttering to himself as he sketched, and lastly, Nino and Alya sat down, two minutes before the bell rang. They were all here.

Exept for Adrien.

The empty seat in front of Marinette became one more punch in the stomach. She decided to make a copy of the notes for him, only to break three pencils in the process. The third pencil had been Alya's, when it broke Alya her BFF a metal pen. Marinette couldn't say she was surprised.

When school had finally ended, Marinette burst through the school doors. She walked as quickly as she could to the Agreste mansions. Upon ringing the bell, the voice of Gabriel's assistant sounded from the speaker.

"Hello, this is the Agreste household, what do you want?"

"Oh!" Marinette lost her composure completely, "Adrien wasn't at school today, so I made a copy of the notes for him!"

"Adrien wasn't in school?" Nathalie questioned, a note of panic creeping into her voice.

"No Ma'am," Marinette responded earnestly, "I'm in his class, and I haven't seen him all day."

"Thank you for informing me of this."

And then the line went dead.

Tikki hovered at Marinette's ear as the girl walked away. The girl already knew, Tikki was going to scold her, and tell her to transform to go in search of the missing Adrien. The raven-haired girl knew that it was the noble thing to do, but in that moment all she wanted was—

 _To be with Chat Noir?_

Where on earth did that thought come from? She sighed quietly to herself. Chat hated her anyway, no point in longing for something you can't have. After a few more minutes of resigned silence the girl gave a slight "Hmf" before calling out to Tikki.

"Tikki, Spots on!" She cried out sullenly.

Of course, the Kwami complied, and in a flash of pink light Ladybug stood where Marinette had once been. The spotted hero launched herself onto the rooftops. She had absolutely no idea where to start. She could check Nino's house but the DJ claimed he hadn't seen Adrien as of this morning. She threw her head back dramatically.

"Uuurgh! I'm never going to find him."

Unbeknownst to Ladybug, Adrien was merely a few blocks away, watching his Lady look dejected. He begged Master Fu to let him transform, to no avail.

"you're not up to begin Chat Noir." The Guardian insisted, "please, rest."

The blonde complied with a over-drawn sigh, "Fiiine."

 **Aaaand that's a nother chapter down the hatch! Thanks so much to everyone who's been leaving such nice reviews. You guys are the ones that motivate me to keep this story going! If you see something that needs improvement, or somebody's a bit out of character, let me know and I'll see how I can fix it in that chapters to come! See you soon!**


	6. Chapter 6

He lied. he completely and utterly lied.

As soon as Master Fu was asleep, he instantly called to plagg to transform him. The Kwami tried to protest, but at that point he was already being sucked into the silver ring. Chat slunk out of the room with a feline air around him, making his way outside. When he reached the road, he extended his staff. It rose high above the buildings, staying perfectly balanced until Chat gave word.

He surveyed the city, searching for Ladybug. He strained his eyes looking into the distance trying to make out rooftops that were barely above the horizon.

"Chat Noir?" He recognized that voice…

"Ladybug!"

He decended slowly to greet his spotted partner. Chat's smile vanished when he saw Ladybug's furious glare.

"What are you doing?!" She demanded, "What kind of fool must you be, out at this hour with a serious injury!"

"M'lady I—"

"I don't want to hear it Chat Noir! I've been worried sick about you! And now you're running around in the middle of the night making your shoulder worse!"

Chat's ears drooped, he gazed distractedly at his feet. If he gripped his baton any tighter he might just snap it.

"Bug-a-boo—"

"Just go home Chat."

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing of importance.

"if it wasn't important than why would you be out this late?"

The spotted heroine gave a loud sigh, "if you must know, I'm looking for a missing person."

"Who?"

"Adri— no."

"beg pardon?"

Ladybug whipped around to face her partner, "If I tell you, you'll just go look for them."

"We're a team M'lady."

Another sigh from Ladybug, "yes kitty, we are a team. But right now the best way you can help me, is to get home, and rest up."

"But—"

"No more arguing Chat Noir." Ladybug imposed with a deadly tone, "just go."

He turned and went he wanted to hit himself.

 _Damnit!_ Chat exclaimed internally, _now I've made her even more worried!_

Ladybug watched him turn away from afar, regretting her harsh words immediately. She saw the droop in his posture and the sadness in his eyes as he turned away. It almost made her want to apologize, but instead she was firm. He had disobeyed Master Fu, if anything, he should be apologizing.

She tossed her yo-yo to a building across the street, and felt the cool summer night on her face as she swung from rooftop to rooftop. "Stupid Chat" She muttered as she went in search of Adrien.

 **Gah! This chapter is mostly filler, jeez I'm disappointed in myself. It's short, and it took me four days. Oof. I'm sorry guys. I'm going to put out another chapter soon, but I didn't want you to feel ghosted so I just posted this. But I do have a reason for being so stumped, I'm writing a one shot! I'll give you more details in the next (hopefully better) chapter. Bye for now.**


	7. Chapter 7

Adrien collapsed onto the sofa with a dramatic sigh.

"What's up with you?" Plagg demanded.

"She wasn't even happy to see me!"

"You've got to be kidding me kid!" Plagg sighed incredulously, "she was so worried she got angry!"

"I guess," the blonde shrugged.

It was then, Nathalie burst into the room, Gabriel was beside her, the two were ingaged in a fierce conversation.

"Where is my son Nathalie?" Gabriel demanded.

"I don't know sir, he wasn't as school today."

"How could you allow this to happen?"

Adrien realized with a start that they had been looking for _him._

"I'm right here."

When he'd announced his presence, Nathalie gave a small jump. The two looked at him, gave a curt, synchronized nod, and then strode out of the room.

Adrein sat quietly, absorbing the silence of the room around him, the sun began to rise, it the weekend had finally begun. Maybe he should go see Nino, provided his father would let him. He stepped out of the room and into the hallway. Nathalie was walking past on the lowere floor.

"Nathalie!" Adrien called from the balcony, "where is my father?"

The assistant looked flustered, "he's busy, and Adrien, you know better than to yell in this house."

"Do you think I could head over to Nino's?"

"I'm sure your father wouldn't allow it. Especially after that stunt you pulled tonight!"

The blonde frowned, "I only went for a walk around Paris."

"An extraordinarily long walk, I presume?"

"What can I say? I live in a beautiful city— that I never get to see."

The assistant gave a long exaggerated sigh, "your father will be busy for the next three hours. If you return before he has concluded his meeting, he need not know you were gone."

When Adrien unscrambled the mix of sophisticated-ness was delighted to find that Nathalie was letting him go.

"Thank you!" He called out, rushing for the door.

He made his way to the subway, waiting anxiously for the first train. His shoulder had stopped aching like it had been the night before, dispite Plagg warning against it, Adrien couldn't wait to see Nino on the weekends. When the train finally did arrive, he flung himself into a car, and childishly urged the train to go faster in his mind. The idea struck him that he should probably tell Nino that he was coming over. He reached to grab his phone, sending a sharp pain into his shoulder.

"I warned you." Plagg grumbled from Adrien's jacket pocket.

The blonde rolled his eyes. He got the "OK" from Nino to come over, and as soon as the train stopped, he began to sprint. He pumped his arms up and down, only to be met with more sharp pains in his shoulder. He resigned to speed walking.

When he finally reached the home of his best friend, he knocked on the doors exitedly. He waited for a bit, unsure of how long it normally took for someone to answer a door. After a few minutes he figured he'd knock again. Adrien waited a few more minutes, he was about to knock again until he heard a voice from next door.

"we live over here dude."

According to Nino, the look on the blonde's face was priceless. He walked into the door with an embarrassed slouch in his step.

"So, wassup?" The DJ asked, confused, "you're never over here, is something wrong?"

Adrein returned Nino's concerned look with a wide, childish smile, "Nathalie let me sneak out!"

"Dude no way! Does it really count as sneaking though?"

Adrien shrugged, making his way to the couch, "do you mind if I sit down?"

His friend gave an incredulous laugh, "You don't have to ask! Just make yourself at home, Mi casa es tú casa, and all that!"

The blonde sit down with a confused look, "was that French?" He questioned, already sure that it wasn't.

"Nah, man it's Spanish, which is actually kinda funny because it's an American expression."

Dispite still being confused, Adrien decided that he was he was asking too many questions and promptly closed his mouth. Nino plopped down on the couch beside him. He couldn't believe how warm and welcoming the space was. There was a nice carpet under their feet, and the furniture was mismatched. Technically speaking, the room shouldn't have worked design-wise, but the smell of spices from the kitchen, and the family picture on the mantle made it obvious that looks weren't all that important in this family.

"Bro? are you ok?"

"Hm? Yeah, I just spaced out."

"Well I was asking if you wanted some a snack, or something to drink?"

"I'm not really hungry, but thanks."

Nino smiled, shifting the conversation, "so who's Nathalie anyway? She must be pretty cool, to help you get away from your old man!"

Adrien shrugged, "Nathalie is my father's assistant. She's not normally one for breaking rules, but, I guess everyone acts unexpectedly from time to time."

The DJ sighed at another failed convention topic, "What's up dude?" He asked finally.

"What do you mean?"

"You've been acting down all day."

"have I?"

"Yes."

In that moment, the silence itself was deafening. Nino could see in it Adrien's eyes. The childish person who the model had been earlier was making way for a much more melancholy side of his friend.

"A lot of stuff's been happening."

"Do you wanna talk?"

"Well, I got my shoulder hurt, I can't tell Father because I did it while I was sneaking out, I made the girl I like mad at me, and… I really miss Mom."

Nino gave a small sigh of understanding, "Man, I don't know much about your family—I can't even imagine losing one of my parents— but I want you to know, that no matter what, you've got me. If nothing else, I'll be your family. I know I'll never replace your mom, and I can't make your dad a good person, but I'll give you what I can."

"Thanks Nino,"

"As for your shoulder," Nino continued, getting up from the couch, "You can put this on it to make it at least a little bit better."

Adrein thankfully accepted the ice pack from his friend.

"Now, tell me about this girl."

With a sigh, the model began to detail the events of the previous night. When he'd finally finished, the DJ smiled playfully.

"She's just worried about you, dude! No need to get so panicked."

He messed up the blonde's perfectly done "model hair," as Nino called it. They spent the rest of the day on a much lighter note, playing video games and debating over witch dessert was better.

"You're so wrong! Macaroons are the best!" Nino argued.

"Have you ever eaten a cookie?!" Adrien questioned incredulously.

It was then that they heard a knock on the door. Adrien looked at the clock.

His father's meeting had finished an hour ago.

* * *

 **Whoop! My longest chapter yet! Hopefully this made up for the pitiful 400 word chapter I put out a few days ago. If this took a bit longer than normal, well, I'm hoping that the extra 200 words were worth the wait. Also, the oneshot I mentioned earlier is almost complete! I'll probably be announcing its title next chapter. Also, I learned how to add a little divider thirty seconds ago! Ok, now I'm rambling. See you guys soon!**


	8. Chapter 8

When they got in the car, Adrien heard the a small sigh from his father. He couldn't tell you why, but that small noise completely deflated what little confidence he had.

His father had been disappointed in him.

Not argry, nor frustrated, but for once in his life he'd believed enough on his son to be _legitimately disappointed_ in Adrien. Knowing that he had lowered his farther' standard in him was a punch in the gut for the model.

"Father I—"

"Honestly Adrien, I am astounded by your behavior."

Adrien winced, as if the words had hurt him.

"I find you missing in the middle of the night, and then after you've returned, you sneak out not even an hour later. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Adrien took a deep breath, "Father, I just wanted to spend time with one of my school friends. Is that a crime?"

there was a short pause in which both father and son thought very carefully about what they were about to say. Gabriel spoke first.

"Of course it isn't a crime," He spoke with a mix of sympathy and indifference, as if he couldn't decide how he was feeling. "I'd just prefer for your friends to join you in the mansion. If you must leave at least alerted Nathalie first."

Adrien was about to tell him that he _had_ his assistant where he'd been headed, but before he could, he caught Nathalie's eye in the rear view mirror. The guilty expression on her face drew another sigh from Adrien's lips.

"yes father."

Finally, they arrived at the mansion. When he walked in, the young model shuddered at the cold air surrounding him. The smell of chemical cleaner permeated through the foyer. He suddenly noticed that everything was either black or white, save the solumn portrait of him and is father that hung above the grand staircase, but that was sad in its own right.

None of it felt like a home.

He dragged his feet up the staircase, glaring at the beautifully chiseled marble banister.

When he finally made it to his room, he collapsed into his office chair, and logged into his computer. He was vaguely aware of Plagg sifting through his wealth of cheese, while he waited for the Ladyblog to load.

When new blog posts began to appear on his screen, he smiled.

"Alright internet," he chuckled, "what crazy theories about me have you got today?"

Alas the first article was not a fan post, nor was it one of Alya's odd conspiracies, it was an official post under the title, _Ladybug and Rena Rouge seen fighting akumas without Chat Noir; What happened to Paris' favorite kitty?_

The title made him want to punch Alya. Nothing had happened to him, he was just out of commission for a little bit. He knew he needed to talk to Ladybug about this, but how was he supposed to find her when she didn't even know her name?

He checked the post date on the ridiculous post. It had only been published five minutes ago. Alya worked incredibly fast, maybe there was a chance his partner was still out there.

"Plagg!" Adrien called, determination reverberate in his throat.

"Whaaat?"

"Claws Out!"

"Wait kid what about your—"

Plagg was sucked into the ring as Adrien was engulfed in green light.

* * *

 **Oof. I said I wasn't going to more than three days, and here I am, five days after the last chapter. I mentioned in my bio that I'm working on an original novel. I guess this week that ended up taking most of my time. I didn't even work on my oneshot. I hope you're not disappointed, I'm disappointed in myself. I'm going to get the oneshot done this week, hopefully that will free up more time to work on this and my original story. For now, I'll see you in the next chapter. Thanks for your patience.**


	9. Chapter 9

Ladybug landed on her balcony with a quiet gunt. She rushed into her bedroom, as the last spot on her earrings disappeared. Tikki zoomed off to find some sort of sweet to indulge in as Marinette took a second to catch her breath. The akuma she had fought with Rena Rouge normally wouldn't have been much of a big deal, just a standard, minorly inconvenienced civilian, who'd been upset over missing his daughter's race, at a track meet.

The problem was, she'd been fighting alongside Rena Rouge.

Obviously, she had nothing against Alya, but as Rena she was both less experienced, and less powerful than Chat Noir. The super power "Mirage" hadn't been at all helpful in the situation. The fox-like hero had called it out too early, the illusion she had produced was barely enticing to the villain, and after she ran out of time, she had left Ladybug to fight off the Akuma on her own.

Apparently whoever came up with the phrase, "Seperation makes the heart grow fonder," was right.

Marinette would have never admitted it to anyone, but in that moment, she deeply missed Chat Noir.

A part of her knew that comparing a newbie hero with her well-practiced partner was completely unfair. Yet, she did it anyway. She couldn't help it.

Alya's excited raving proved a poor substitute for Chat Noir's quick wit, and wordplay. Not to mention that somewhere along the way, Rena had begun calling her "Spots" a nickname that, for some inexplicable reason, had rubbed her the wrong way.

Who was she kidding? She just missed being called Bug-a-boo.

The more she thought about it, the more she wished she could been with her Kitty. She thought about his intelligent eyes and wit. Thinking back to how kind he had been when she'd completely botched her first attempt at using a magic yo-yo. She thought about his eyes, glowing green with mischief, and his sun-blonde hair, undone and shaggy in an oddly cute manner.

Realizing, what she was thinking, and who she was thinking of, she abruptly got up, walked over to her bed, and punched one of her pillows so hard, it shook her whole room.

"Marinette?" Tikki zoomed up to her holder, "are you alright?"

"Fine, Tikki," The girl sighed collapsing onto her bed, "a bit confused."

Tikki had dealt with several time periods, several regions, and several challengers against the power of the Miraculous, but one thing that was always a constant with Ladybugs were boy trouble.

"Are you feeling down about Adrien?"

"What?" Marinette looked up at the Kwami, "No, it's much worse."

"What's so bad that you have to cause a mini earthquake in your bedroom?"

Marinette sat up and looked Tikki in the eyes dramatically, "I think I'm falling for Chat Noir!"

Tikki exploded in to laughter. Marinette frowned at her kwami, this was no time to joke around.

"Marinette it's ok!"

"No it's not!"

"Why is it such a bad thing that your in love with Him?"

The girl stopped to think, why _was_ it such a big deal? Determined not to look like a fool, she thought long and hard for some sort of reason, when she couldn't find one, she resigned to flopping down on her bed once more, drawing more giggles from Tikki.

"Oh hush," she sighed. Eventually her mind wandered off, thinking about Rena, and Chat and Akumas.

it was going to be a hard three weeks to wait.

* * *

 **Hey look! I'm on time today! I'm even early! But that's beside the point, I released my oneshot today! It's called "Mentor" and it's roughly 2,000 words long, so if you need something to nice a and short to read without any cliff hangers, you know where to look. See you soon!**


	10. Chapter 10

Adrien flopped down onto his office chair once again. His search for Ladybug had been futile. His shoulder burned with pain.

"I warned you," Plagg chided, "you knew it wasn't a good idea, but noooo—"

The kwami was cut off when Adrien hurled a slice of cheese at him.

"Ok, ok, I get it. I'll shut up."

Adrien put his head him his hands, the sudden movement sent more pain creeping down his shoulder. His face scrunched into a wince as he stared vacantly at the top of his desk.

"Adrien?"

"What do you want Plagg?"

"School starts in a few hours, you should get some sleep."

With a grunt of agreement, the blonde got up. He dragged himself to bed and flopped down on the mattress. It felt like he had barely lied down before it had been time to wake up. The blonde had already been wearing his clothes from the day before, and didn't bother changing them.

The exhausted boy made his way to school in a daze, barely paying attention to his surroundings. When he finally made his way into the classroom, he had missed a hour of class. Even Marinette had beat him to school.

"Adrien are you ok?" In his daze, the blonde swore that it had been Ladybug's voice, but when he turned his head, he found it was only his raven-haired classmate.

"Yeah I'm fine, I was up all night, studying my…photoshoot, for history class."

He looked into a pair of beautiful blue eyes, Ladybug? His tired brain questioned. No, it was still only Marinette.

After what Adrien presumed was a few hours, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Still, tired, and dazed he turned, and instinctively said something that normally only Chat Noir would, "Am I really so irresistible that you can't bear to be without me?"

The garnered a snort from whoever he had spoken to, "You wish, blonde."

Somewhere, deep in the back of Adrien's foggy mind, something almost clicked. He became vaguely aware of who his lady was, but he was so fatigued, that he simply dismissed the revelation as he drifted off to sleep once again.

When he woke, up, his heart was pounding. He'd forgotten something. Something important. He flung himself out of— bed? Since when was he in bed? He looked around. When did he get home? He rubbed his eyes.

 _What happened today?_

 _What did he forget?!_

The blonde paced around his ridiculously big bedroom. Fiddling with his ring restlessly. There was a sudden knocking on the door.

"What?!" Adrien snapped.

A muffled voice from the other side called out, "Open up dude, it's me!"

Adrien yanked the door open, "Hey Nino."

"Hey."

Adrien led his friend inside. "Come in! What was that thing you said? The weird Spanish thing?"

"Oh, you mean, Mi casa es tú casa!" Nino chuckled, "thanks dude."

The blonde went to boot up a video game when the DJ suddenly stopped him.

"Hey man, can we talk?"

Taken aback by his friend's sudden tone change, Adrien nodded.

"So, what was up,with you today?"

"Same old, same old, Nino."

"Man you're not normally like this. Did things get worse since we talked last?"

The model cradled his head in his hands, the silence between the two of them hung for a bit. Nino looked down at Adrien. Adrien wondering just how much to tell Nino. Eventually he decided to start small.

"Remember that girl I like?"

"yeah?"

"I know I'm forgetting something about her."

"like what dude? A birthday, an allergy? There's too much range."

"I don't know Nino, something important— really important."

Nino gave a small sigh, "Look, dude, I want to help, you, maybe just tell me who she is."

Adrein panicked, how was he supposed to explain this? He could jut tell Nino about his crush on Ladybug, but it'd come off as creepy if he didn't also explain his identity as Chat Noir. His heart raced, he wracked his brain for an answer. In his exhausted panic, the blonde blurted out one of the worst things he could have said in that situation.

"It's Marinette."

* * *

 **Whooo. We got a cliffhanger up in here. Sorry— not sorry— but hey, at least I'll update soon. That's pretty much all I've got to say this time around. Leave a review if you have the time, I love to know what I can improve on. Thanks for reading, see you soon!**


	11. Chapter 11

Alya stretched out leisurely on the couch in her family's living room. She had gotten home from fighting an akuma with Ladybug, put her sisters to bed, and was finally enjoying some time to herself.

Then her phone began to ring, the caller ID told her it was Nino.

She picked in up with a grumble, "What is it Nino?"

On the other end of the line, the DJ was giddy with excitement, "Guess whaaat."

"Nino, what is it?"

"So I'm over at Adrien's place."

"yeah...?"

"And we started to talk about girls."

"Hold it right there, you're way too excited— does he like Marinette?!"

"Yep!"

All traces of Alya's exhaustion were gone. Replaced by the same giddiness that Nino was, no doubt, hung up with a quick goodbye, and scrolled frantically through her contact list, searching for the name of her clumsy friend. When she finally did find it, she slammed her finger on the "call" button so fast, she was surprised the screen didn't crack.

When Marinette picked up the phone, she was met with an ear-shattering squeal of her best friend.

"Hello to you too, Alya." She giggled.

"Girl, you are not going to believe it!"

Marinette yawned, "Is that so?"

Alya laughed happily, "Ok, so, Nino was talking to Adrien, and Adrien told Nino that he's totally crushing on you!"

Marinette groaned inwardly, a few weeks ago, this would have sent her to cloud nine. Recently... it was complicated. She liked Chat Noir now, but she never really stopped liking Adrien. Chat Had just been... easier.

Alya cleared her throat, "Is this crazy or what?!"

"I don't know Alya," Marinette sighed, "I think I might have moved on."

"What?!" Alya exclaimed, "Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm fine Alya. Nothing against Adrien it was just, too little, too late I guess."

Alya sighed, "Well, that's a bummer, because Nino may have already told him that you like him."

"Alya!"

"…And we might have set up a date for the two of you."

"ALYA! WHAT HAPPENED TO US AGREEING NEVER TO MAKE DECISIONS FOR EACHOTHER?!"

"I'm sorry girl, I thought you were still into him."

Marinette wanted to scream, "well, I'm not."

"Good luck telling that to him."

The raven haired girl froze. She couldn't just tell him no. Adrien was such a kind friend. Marinette didn't even want to think about the rejection in his eyes when she turned him down. What if he were to get akumatized?

"Fine, I'll go on one date."

The squeal that Alya let out was one of pure happiness.

* * *

 **I don't have much to say this time around. More to come soon! Leave a review if you can. They inspire me to keep writing.**


	12. Chapter 12

Adrien looked in the mirror and groaned.

 _What had he done?_

what kind of sick emotional game was he playing with his classmate? Marinette liked him, but as much as he tried to convince himself that the feeling was mutual, he couldn't get over Ladybug.

Not to mention, his father hadn't been especially pleased by his situation either. When Adrien told his father about the date, he gave an exasperated sigh and gave his blessing with a stiff nod.

Now he stood, looking camera ready in front of the Miror. He'd done his best to look normal. Any designer clothing — especially from his father's lines— had been banished for fear that the blonde would make Marinette feel less than. Despite that, he couldn't help but feel like a rich prick.

Plagg chuckled behind him, "Reeelax kid!" He chided, "She hasn't turned her nose up at you yet, she won't now."

"I guess so," Adrien sighed, "I feel bad."

"Kid, in a month, whatever happens tonight won't matter."

The blonde sighed. He couldn't argue with that.

Adrien beckoned Plagg to hide in his sweater. He walked shyly out the front door to meet the driver. His foot bounced unconsciously while the model waited for the car to arrive at Marinette's home. The traffic hindered their progress, only putting Adrien more on edge. He began to check his watch obsessively, making sure that they weren't late.

When they finally parked in front of the bakery, the poor boy was fidgeting like crazy. Before he even reached the door, it opened, and out stepped Marinette. Adrien still didn't have feelings for Marinette, but he couldn't deny beauty when he saw it.

She stood in front of him an intoxicatingly happy smile stretched across her face. The girl's famed bluebell eyes shone with glee. She was wearing a simple sundress, but, somehow it was one of the most beautiful dresses Adrien had ever seen.

The model gave a shy smile.

Marinette gave a small chuckle, "Where to, blondie?"

Adrein froze there was a playful smirk on her face, the confidence she spoke with was purely alien to Adrien, who'd only ever heard nervous stuttering from the raven haired girl. Now he eyes shone with a slight amount of mischief. The boy had to remind himself that this wasn't Ladybug.

 _Or is it?_ His brain challenged.

A blush rose up in Adrien's cheeks, "were g-going for a picnick."

The red in his face deepened when Marinette acknowledged his stammer with a small giggle.

"Uhh, we should get… get into the car."

Marinette nodded and allowed herself to be led into the limo. When they sat down, she noticed his constant fidgeting. He was bouncing his knee so quickly that it was merely a blur. Adrien only realized after the driver had parked that he probably should have been making conversation with Marinette.

 _Dammit_

"Adrien?" Marinette waved her hand in front of his eyes, "earth to Adrien."

"Huh? Oh heh, sorry Marinette."

"C'mon blondie, I don't know where I'm going!

"Sorry sorry," he mumbled, leading her sheepishly to their destination.

It was a bit of a hike, they Adrien was amazed at his date's endurance. Marinette wasn't even out of breath. They trekked along with the same awkward silence hovering around them, Only broken by the occasional, witty remark from Marinette. Eventually, Adrien began to worry.

 _They should've driven closer. What if Marinette doesn't like the food he brought? Maybe she had allergies!_

He boy was so caught up in his worried that he almost walked passed the spot he'd chosen. A small picnic table that he'd visited with his mother when he was young. Marinette looked around in wonder. They were surrounded by shrubs and trees, the beautiful flowers and their scent. Adrien's heart leapt with joy when he saw the girl's smile. It was oddly familiar.

The two sat down, Adrien didn't even notice what he was eating. The boy was too lost in Marinette's familiar blue eyes.

"Y'know, normally a girl has to point out where her eyes are." Marinette smirked.

"Who wouldn't notice eyes as beautiful as yours" Was Adrien's dreamy response.

"Thank you?"

There was a small pause, in which Adrien found it impossible not to notice the little similarities between Marinette and Ladybug.

"So, do you wear your hair like that because of Ladybug?"

When Adrien saw the slightly miffed looked on the girl's face, he wished desperately that he could take the question back.

"No, I wore it like this a year before Ladybug even showed up, but it's cool that we have a similar style."

Adrein nodded at that. Not quite sure how to respond.

 _Maybe she is— but what if she's not? It's hard to tell— oh hush, it's obvious—but—_

The blonde began to fidget again, tugging gently on a few strands of hair. When Marinette noticed this, she giggled slightly. The girl grabbed his hand and held it.

"Don't be nervous kitty."

When Marinette realized when she had called him, her cheeks grew red. She began to bounce her knee crazily. Adrien smiled.

"I'm not the only one, M'lady."

It was a harmless thing, just a simple name. But when Adrien saw the little look of panic in Marinette's eyes it was another hint to add to the list... or he had just surprised her, but hopefully that wasn't the case.

He gave a jittery sign. _Hopefully he won't regret this._

"May I kiss you?"

It was then he realized that she'd been in the middle of talking.

 _Whyyy?_

The two of them looked at each other. Both as red as tomatoes. Adrien was screaming internally. His panic was not helped by the fact that the only response Marinette had offered was a small giggle.

"A little eager are we?"

 _CrapCrapCrapCrapCrap._

He almost didn't realize that she'd planted her lips on his. In that moment Adrien remembered that he had no idea what he was doing. Luckily, neither did Marinette. The two broke apart in a fit of nervous laughter.

Marinette spoke first, "I don't know how to do this."

"neither do I!" Adrien chuckled.

With a small sigh, the blonde pulled the girl closer. He knew that in his arms, was his lady, and he would have given anything to make that night last forever.

* * *

 **Hello! Hopefully you're not mad about the wait. This chapter is longer than normal and it felt weird to split apart. I'm happy that I got another look chapter, I kinda felt like I was cheating you guys with all the 400 word stuff I'd been putting out recently. Like and follow if you can, but especially review. I absolutely love reading them! Tell me wat you liked, and what you didn't. I'm hoping to improve my writing skills but I can't do that if I don't know what needs work. See you soon!**


	13. Chapter 13

Marinette and Adrien walked back, hand in hand they spoke absent happily to each other. The talked about stupid things. The best time of day, the scariest akuma attack, anything and everything that could have been discussed. Eventually they walked passed a familiar ice cream vendor.

They could hear Andre's song, beckoning passerby to sample some of his sweetheart's ice cream. Marinette looked up at her date, silently asking if he wanted some. The boy nodded enthusiastically. They linked arms and strode over to the cart.

"Marinette!" The man called out, "Adrien! so good to see you both— and as a couple no less!"

The pair simultaneously panicked. Sure they're on a date together, but that didn't make them a couple… but maybe they should be together.

unfased by the silence, Andre laughed jovially and added a cherry on top of the colorful dessert. He handed it off to the two, along with a pair of spoons.

"Enjoy!" The vendor called after them as they walked away.

Adrien made the brave decision to speak first, "Are we? Y'know… are we together?"

Marinette uddered a soft, barely audible, "eep."

"I-I meant— we don't have to b-be," the blonde corrected, "j-just wo-wondering."

When he looked down at Marinette, she was looking down at the floor. With a sudden sigh, the girl grabbed Adrien's hand and pulled him to a nearby park bench. The boy's heart began to pound, something wasn't right.

"Look— they say honestly is the best policy, so I guess I have to trust whoever "they" are"

"ok?"

Marinette looked anywhere but Adrien's worried green eyes. When she finally spoke up, the boy barely heard her.

"A few hours ago, I didn't like you," The designer sighed, "but tonight's been so amazing… I'm not sure what to think."

The modle's heartrate only got faster.

"I guess we could be in a relationship— if that's what you want. I guess— just don't be surprised if I-I'm a little, hesitant."

Adrien gave a small sigh of relief, "I'd like to be in a relationship with you— but don't feel obligated! If you don't want—"

He was cut off by a small laugh from Marinette, "I think… I'd like that."

He small smile made the blonde want to melt. Her words were surprised him so much that he physically jumped. When date wrapped her arms around him with a tight hug, Adrien decided that there was nothing he'd rather be doing. The two stayed like this until they ice cream they had left uneaten melted all over the two of them. Adrien jumped into action.

"Stay there!" He insisted, "I'll get some napkins."

Marinette watched him walk swiftly back to the cart. On his way back, he locked eyes with her. He hadn't been paying attention. He tripped over an uneven stone in the road. With a slight gasp of shock, the blonde went barreling down to the ground. He hit the ground with a loud "wham!" A sudden shock of pain tore a strangled whimper out of Adrien's lips.

He'd landed on his bad shoulder.

* * *

 **Phew! Normal length chapter, normal wait time. Finally a nice and typical chapter with a semi-cliffhanger. Leave a review to let me know how to improve! I absolutely love reading them. If you can't review, at least like or follow, I always get so happy when I see how many people like my work. That's all for today, see you soon!**


	14. The End and a thank you

It was cold in the ER.

not just literally. The white walls, the smell of disinfectant, the slow monton beep beep beep of the heart monitor his father had insisted on using.

In some sad pathetic way, it remin him of the mansion. Neither of them were really his home, they were just special boxes for people to live in. They were a roof over his head and the walls keeping him trapped.

What was his home? Adrein wondered silently.

He sat in the dark night thought about that question. Then he smiled, to him, home was Nino's living room. Home was the paris rooftops, and Marinette's bakery. That was his home. And it was all he needed.

Adrien wanted to go home.

"Plagg?" He called.

There was a light woosh as the kwami moved into veiw, looking sleepily at his chosen.

"Claws out."

His shoulder still burned with pain, as he got up. It didnt bother Adrien. He climbed through his window, and wen to find his home

* * *

 **Ok ok ok ok ok. LISTEN! I am insanely sorry for this massive hiatus. I wrote myself into a corner and I couldn't get out , and it left me very demotivated for a long time. I'm so glad you came back to give me on last chance at this. This chapter was my attempt at ending this story with dignity instead of leaving it unfinished like so many others on this website. But I never stopped writing. I worked on origanal projects, and oneshots, and in the time I spent away, I got a new Idea. I can't promise it'll be as long as this one, but i do know it'll have the same spirit and the same feeling if that makes sense, I'm going to call it "Finding Home" and I think it will be fun. Anyway... weather you're interested or not. wheather your a new reader, or youve been readin this since last summer, I'm infinitely thankful for you.**

 **\- Alice**


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